Have you ever gone into a department store, bank, or restaurant and been greeted by someone who was acting polite, but who you knew couldn’t give a rip? It’s a major turnoff for most people. (That’s because it’s a sure sign of insincerity and a lack of caring.) But you and all the…
As the year winds down and comes to a close, and our minds turn to celebration, I’d like to invite you to spend a little time on reflection. These will be some of the questions I’ll be playing with as I reflect on my year. Please feel free to use them, or use…
I walked into the mailbox store last week to pick up my mail. The counter inside the door, usually filled with business cards and flyers from the mailbox holders and the local merchants was empty. Naked. Unadorned. It struck me immediately as strange and left me feeling sad, disconnected, and odd. For so long those…
The customer’s opinion is more important than it ever was before. 71% of people said they take a friend’s recommendation for a product or service. Customers today are involved and engaged in a way never before possible and it’s changing the game. For the better, I think. The customer’s in charge and the customer…
Human nature is funny, and the need to complain is a big part of it. Put a person in a room with a “specialist” and they tend to want a little bit of free advice. My friend Robin, a lawyer, says whenever she goes to a party someone usually asks for a little legal advice. My friend…
We are all beginning to realize the value of developing long term, loyal relationships with our customers. They buy more and refer more, help us develop the next generation of products and services, and they even help us keep our advertising costs in reason. But are our customers (people external to our company that buy things from us) the only people we should be building long term relationships with? No. The relationship strategy applies externally and internally as well.
I thought I was going into the gift shop, apparently I was entering the twilight zone…
JoAnna Brandi hates to generalize, but I am beginning to think the service givers, especially here in Florida are suffering from a disease I call E.D.S. – Empathy Deficiency Syndrome. Some of the symptoms include apathy and an amazing ability to look right at a customer and not see a thing. The other peculiar indication of this syndrome is the inability to use the words “I’m sorry” or calming phrases such as “I can understand how that might be upsetting.”
It was late morning and I was in my hotel room getting ready to speak and then to travel on to my next engagement. It was a long flight and wanted to be able to change into my travel clothes before getting on the plane. Knowing what a hassle that can be without having the convenience of a hotel room, I called down to the front desk to ask a favor.
The “Get Real” Guide to Having a Good Day Every Day
By JoAnna Brandi
There’s never been a time when great customer service mattered more than it does now. The economy is recovering, but consumer confidence is still down, and the customers who are buying have scores of choices of where to buy and how to buy. And now, almost every product and service out there has been “commoditized” so it’s hard to determine who actually offers the best value (and so, many people just shop based on price alone.)
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